University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
East Carolina Postgame Notes
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
East Carolina Postgame Notes
Junior Christshawn Gilliam, who had started the previous nine games at outside linebacker, was ECU's starting running back in today's game due to a groin injury to Art Brown. Brown dressed for the game but did not see any action. It was Gilliam's first-ever start on offense. He finished with a team-high 59 rushing yards on 15 carries plus caught a pass for 11 yards.
The Pirates had a good trick play turn bad on its first possession in the first quarter. Kicker Kevin Miller lined up to attempt a 40-yard field goal, but holder Jarad Preston took the snap and ran virtually untouched into the end zone for an apparent 23-yard touchdown run. The play was called back, however, due to a holding penalty and ECU ended up having to punt the ball away.
Senior wide receiver Richard Alston extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 22. In today's game, Alston had two catches for 21 yards.
Sophomore quarterback Paul Troth surpassed the 2,000-yard passing mark with his 52 yards in today's game. Currently with 2,035 yards, he is only the 10th ECU quarterback to surpass that mark in a season.
Senior wide receiver Torey Morris continued his streak of having multiple receptions in each game this season. Going back to last season, he has now caught two or more passes in each of his last 14 games. He had two receptions for 18 yards today.
The Pirates were shut out in a half (first half) for the first time since going scoreless in the second half of a 28-26 win at Cincinnati on Nov. 10, 2001.
Kelly Hardy's 82-yard return of a Southern Miss fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter marked his second such play this season. He had an 80-yard fumble return for a score at West Virginia. Hardy, a senior, has now scored four defensive touchdowns during his ECU career.
